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Episode 429: The Dodgers, DirecTV, and Baseball’s Broadcast Bubble/Your Finest Emails
Date April 16, 2014 Summary Ben and Zachary talk to David Lazarus about the Dodgers and baseball’s broadcast bubble, then answer emails about Scott Boras, Brian Cashman, the AL East, and more. Topics * Interview with David Lazarus * Baseball broadcast bubble * Los Angeles Dodgers * Time Warner Cable & DirecTV * Government intervention in cable * Scott Boras * Beating the shift * Is Brian Cashman a good GM? * Dan Brooks on defining a catch and the transfer rule * Rooting for a declining team * Toughest division in baseball Intro Small Faces, "Don't Burst My Bubble" Interstitial Robyn Hitchcock, "Another Bubble" Outro Episode outtake sound clip Banter Sam is on vacation and Zachary Levine is filling in as a guest host. Email Questions * Tony: "Is Scott Boras losing influence and his position as baseball's best and most important agent? I ask because the past four or five months have been very bad for him. First, there is the Cano exit and signing. Second, there is the ruling against him in the Beltran case where his, frankly legally offensive 'stick with me provision' was held to be unenforceable. Third, there is his repeated inability to adapt to the qualifying offer free agency rule. Last year two players of his signed last minute contracts and this year it's even worse. Has Scott Boras' run as the sport's best agent ended? No one is writing or talking about this but it seems like a pretty interesting story." * Kevin (Pittsburgh, PA): "I have a simple question rooted in a certain broadcaster's righteous indignation at baseball players unwillingness to direct their batted balls away from defensive shifts. The question is, in general do you think hitters have the ability to redistribute their batted balls with any significance? Is it possible to beat defensive shifts simply by becoming a less stubborn hitter? I can't help but think that if such a thing were truly possible players would be all over it by now. Like a player doesn't want a .400 batting average on his resume come contract negotiations?" * Chris: "I always hear people say that Brian Cashman continues to be a good GM. Looking at the evidence, the Yankees current team and farm system, I have a hard time determining how this could be true (at least within the last three or so years). Their Cot's page is pretty incredible as it is mostly huge contracts that are either on the back end and getting ugly (Alex Rodriguez, Teixeira, Sabathia) or big new free agent contracts (Tanaka, Ellsbury, McCann, Beltran). Their depth is illustrated by the fact that Kelly Johnson is taking over their first base job while Teixeira is hurt. Likewise they have no young players who look to be core cost controlled pieces going forward and their farm system is very poor." * Dan: "What is a catch?" * Dan: "I've been a Tigers fan since the early 90s and after a solid decade of terribleness these last 10 years have been amazing. But now as I look at the aging roster, the Cabrera extension, and the barren farm system I'm beginning to realize that we are the 2017 Phillies, right? I mean it's just about certain that in 4-5 years we're going to be where the Phillies are now. With a painful rebuild in store possibly made worse by a slowdown in the pizza money once our wonderful owners passes control of the team to a new generation. I know that flags fly forever but how can I learn to live in the moment with the great team we have now and ignore the impending doom of the last half of this decade?" * Eric: "What is the next year that the AL East will not be considered the toughest division in baseball?" Play Index * Zachary looks into the whether pitchers from the Dominican Republic are more likely to be relievers. * From 1998-2010 the percentage of Dominican pitchers that were relievers decreased. However since 2010 it has increased. * In 2010 33% of all pitchers in MLB were starters. 15% of Dominican pitchers were starters. * In 2013 28% of Dominican pitchers were starters. Notes * Time Warner Cable is paying more than $8 billion over 25 years for the exclusive right to distribute Dodgers games. DirecTV wants to offer the channel (an extra $5/month) but not make it required for subscribers. * David thinks that media is trending towards an a-la-carte model that will favor unbundling of cable packages. * It is predicted that the average cable bill in 2015 will be $123 per month. * Dan Brooks comes on the show to answer his own question. * The transfer rule was previously discussed in Episode 425. * Ben says the Tigers have "an unmistakable odor of doom." * Zachary guesses 2016 or 2017 for when the AL East will not be baseball's best division. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 429: The Dodgers, DirecTV, and Baseball’s Broadcast Bubble/Your Finest Emails * Time Warner Cable's Dodgers channel shutout by David Lazarus * Scott Boras claims anonymous owners 'damaged' the markets for Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales by Tyler Drenon * Where are all the Australian position players? by Zachary Levine Category:Email Episodes Category:Guest Episodes Category:Episodes